Notes
The Newsletter of Readifolk
Reading's folk song and music club
Issue 19
Welcome
to another
Readifolk newsletter
Rumblings from the Roots
Welcome to the Autumn edition of Notes.
Autumn 2013
previews of all the forthcoming Guest Nights on pages 4
and 5. We have an exceptional line up of acts during the
coming months, including return visits of some of our
favourite performers and the introduction of some highlyrated newcomers. Also included is the usual round up of
news etc., a descriptive summary of Ian’s experiences at
Sidmouth, and a really well-researched article about the
well known folk song ‘House of the Rising Sun’.
We hope you find this newsletter of interest and we look
forward to seeing you at the club.
Now that the wonderful Summer weather has finally
come to an end we can look forward to some cooler
evenings at the club.
Readifolk had a very successful Summer period with
some memorable Guest Nights and lots of enjoyable
Singers and Theme Nights. The special charity concert
in July, which featured our very own RyeWolf, raised a
useful sum of £250 for Reading Community Radio
(www.reading4u.co.uk).
Two of our regular groups, RyeWolf and 3-2-1, will be
performing at the Reading Town Meal
(www.readingtownmeal.org.uk) in the Forbury
Gardens on Saturday 5th October. Do look up the details
of this ambitious community event. It promises to be a
really enjoyable day.
We managed to get to four folk festivals this year –
Chippenham, Sidmouth, The White Horse festival and
Wallingford Bunkfest and as a result we have been able
to book some exciting new acts for the club.
In this edition of Notes you will find our full programme of
events in the next quarter on the back page and
Una & Colin
Image of The Young'uns walking along a desolate road: "The
Young'uns hope to reach Readifolk by 15th December."
Contact us:
Una for bookings and coming events
una@readifolk.org.uk
Colin for publicity, coming events and the mailing list
colin@readifolk.org.uk
Stewart about the newsletter
stewart@readifolk.org.uk
Alison about the website
ali@readifolk.org.uk
Our website:
www.readifolk.org.uk
Flushed with an immense expenses account, we sent our favourite roving reporter, Ian
Freedman - radio presenter, MC, musician and dental technician - off to Devon for a
week. Well, actually, he was going anyway. And he didn't really have an expenses
account..
The Sidmouth Diaries
Image: Banner of the Sidmouth Festival 2013
I have been going to Sidmouth Folk Festival since the
mid nineties, when we accidentally booked to visit Sidmouth
during the festival. It’s how I discovered the folk scene in
the first place. The Festival is so cool that even Readifolk
comes to a temporary halt and stands aside to allow its
regulars to attend. Sidmouth is a "Town Festival", with a
mixture of free and paid for events happening throughout
the town during Folk Week. There is something for
everyone, even when the weather is not so kind.
If you are thinking of going there for the first time, then
make sure you are there on the Sunday when Folk Week is
at its best. Get yourself down to the seafront for about ten in
the morning and you can stay there all day watching morris
sides, buskers, dancers and all manner of other things, all
for free. Particularly impressive are the busking
performances from some of the children, some as young as
ten or eleven, who are more polished artists than many
adults I have seen.
It is unlikely you will be able to book a room in a B&B, but
the festival campsite is on hand and there are several
commercial campsites in the local area. We have always
booked a static caravan for the week, as seven nights
under canvas is beyond the tolerance of Mrs F., who
refuses to avail herself of the pleasures of camping, after
waking up one morning nearly dead from the cold, to find a
thick layer of snow on our tent (not during Sidmouth Folk
Week I hasten to add!).
As well as the live bands and concerts you would expect,
there are ceilidhs in many of the pubs, and workshops on
anything from singing, to playing the melodeon to how to
mend your banjo. Children’s Sidmouth is especially
designed to appeal to bored festival kids.
This year’s festival included performances from Show Of
Hands, Eliza Carthy, Emily Portman and a reunion of Flook,
as well as many others.
We started the festival by going to see Show of Hands. This
was at my twelve year old daughter’s request; she clearly
enjoyed seeing them last year. Supporting them was BBC
Young Folk Musician nominee Luke Jackson. I was greatly
impressed by this young man - supporting SOH can’t be
easy, especially when the audience was clearly SOH’s
crowd. He strode on to the stage with the confidence of a
much more experienced artist, nodded in recognition of the
introduction he was given, and then began his first song,
with no fuss. He had won the audience over within about
thirty seconds, and received a rapturous round of applause
Vox Folk
when the song ended. I can’t recommend him highly
enough.
Show of Hands, themselves, did not disappoint, and both
Phil Beer and Steve Knightley were kind enough to record
promos for The Readifolk Radio Show.
On Monday I faced a dilemma: I wanted to see Peatbog
Fairies’ only show of the festival, but it clashed with the
show put on by the newly reformed Flook. No contest,
especially as Flook were being supported by Emily
Portman, an act I would have paid to see in her own right.
I have never been able to make up my mind whether or not
I actually like Emily Portman’s music, but I have to admit to
being fascinated by her dark subject matter and non linear
melodies. She turned out to be a really nice person when I
spoke to her in the interval. I asked her where she got the
inspiration for her style; she told me it was "just my crazy
imagination." Emily’s set was also notable for the presence
on stage of a very pregnant Lucy Farrell, playing violin. We
were all concerned she was going to go into labour right
there and then!
Flook were predictably awesome, and Brian Finnegan
mentioned a possible new album in the autumn of 2014. I
asked Sara Alan if this was definitely going to happen. She
told me it was a "definite maybe"! They are discussing a
new album and have much unrecorded material, but as yet
they have no date to go into the studio.
The only other formal gig we went to this year was Bella
Hardy’s afternoon slot at the main Sidmouth venue, The
Ham. I have played Bella’s music on The Readifolk Radio
Show many times and was particularly pleased when she
played Herring Girl. She has a versatile voice and could
have chosen to sing in any genre; it is the folk scene’s good
fortune that she chose to play our kind of music. She too
was kind enough to record a promo for The Readifolk Radio
Show, and actually gave me a copy of her latest CD!
Blessed by unusually fine weather, this was the 59th
Sidmouth festival. The organizers have promised to pull out
the stops for next year’s festival.
Dates for the 2014 festival will be August 1st - 8th. More
details in due course from
www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk
A roundup of news snippets, information and
disconnected folk jottings.
News and Stuff
Christmas is coming. We know this, because of the
number of box-set CD releases being issued. It seems
that every artist with a career of more than three or four
albums needs this boost to sales at some point.
Sometimes more than once. A John Martyn 18 disk boxset is about to hit the market at around £160 (a shade
more than the controversially priced Sandy Denny set of
3 years ago) and a long rumoured complete Bob Dylan
retrospective is likely to be a great deal more, if it ever
gets to market. Elton John recently offered a 2 CD
'Deluxe' set at an astonishing £115, so The Waterboys'
Fisherman's Box set of 6 CDs set at about £25 (£50 for
the Deluxe edition) seems like a bargain. Rhino Records
are also re-issuing several box-sets from the Warner
archive at budget prices of £15 - £20, including
retrospectives of Buffalo Springfield (4 CDs), Crosby
Stills Nash & Young (4 CDs), The Band's Last Waltz (4
CDs) and the 40 year anniversary set of the Woodstock
festival (6 CDs).
For sometime now, Topic Records have been
undertaking the task of issuing their entire 70 year
archive in a downloadable form. Integral to this is the
availability, also in digital form, of all the artwork. Their
website says "Currently, digital delivery all too often
separates the audio recording from all artwork,
documentation and sleeve-notes. The plan at Topic is to
restore and include all of the information that originally
accompanied the vinyl release and wherever possible
add photographs and ephemera from our archive." The
digitised albums are available from the all the best digital
retailers, while the booklets are available from Topic's
webite at www.topicrecords.co.uk
Woody Guthrie's boyhood house is to be rebuilt. In a
bid to bring in much needed tourist dollars, businessman
Earl Walker has finally been granted permission to
reconstruct the young Guthrie's home in the conservative
town of Okemah in Oklahoma, where, until fairly recently,
people have been less willing to associate his political
views with their town. Walker bought the site in the
1960s, but the property was in such a derelict state that
he was ordered to demolish the wooden building. With
much forethought, he carefully dismantled the house,
and has kept the timber in storage ever since. Now, the
authorities have finally granted permission for him to
reassemble the house to how it was when Guthrie lived
there.
Farewells
that he is, and raised their family in a cabin without
running water or electricity, while Pete toured extensively.
She also supported him through the McCarthy era trials
which Pete was subject to. Although not a musician
herself, she helped establish the Newport Folk Festival,
the Clearwater environmental campaign and its music
festival, and specialised in making films about folk
musicians.
Chiwoniso Maraire - died 24/7/13 aged 37. Zimbabwean
musician, also known as Chi, who brought contemporary
sensibilities to the traditional instrument the mbira,
sometimes known as the thumb-piano, and challenged
the perception that it should only be played by males. As
well as fronting and collaborating with several
Zimbabwean groups, she was also in the multinational
Women's Voice, with members from 6 countries.
Dave Bulmer - died 3/8/13 aged 62. Less known these
days for his capable accordion playing, than as the man
who notoriously came to acquire the assets of what were
once Bill Leader's Leader and Trailer record labels,
incorporating them into his Celtic Music company. He
steadfastly refused to re-issue the great many recordings
he thus owned the rights to, or to allow those rights to
revert back to the artists, locking up the early careers of
many, including the likes of Christy Moore, Mike Harding,
Roy Bailey, Leon Rosselson, Pete & Chris Coe, Martyn
Wyndham-Read, and many others, as well as many
important recordings from the 1970s. This had a
particular impact upon Nic Jones, who spent many years
unable to perform or record due to injury, and was unable
to benefit from royalties from most of his albums.
Lise Sinclair - died 4/8/13 aged 42. From the British Isles'
most remote island, Fair Isle, Lise Sinclair was a poet,
musician and cultural champion of her homeland
community of about 70 people, and the wider Shetland
Isles. Her inspiration was drawn from the islands, and
she had begun taking her poetry and music to
international audiences.
Louisa Killen - died 9/8/13 aged 79. In later years
adopting the transgender persona of Louisa Jo, as Louis
he was at the forefront of the UK folk revival of the 50s
and 60s, following in the footsteps of Bert Lloyd and
Ewan MacColl. He performed solo, as well as in several
duos with the likes of Mike Waterson, and Peter Bellamy,
and was also a one time member of the Clancy Brothers.
As Louisa, she continue to perform, though illness made
appearances rarer.
Sarah Morgan - died 13/09/13. Previously a member of
Hen Party, Curate's Egg, Bread & Roses, and more lately
Craig Morgan Robson, she visited Readifolk several
times. She also duetted with a number of other folk
artists, and performed solo. She was due to visit us again
Gary Shearston - died 1/7/13 aged 74. Australian singer
in early September this year, as part of a duo with Jeff
and songwriter who was a leading figure of the folk music Gillett, but by then she had become seriously ill and had
revival of the 1960s. Mostly performing traditional
to cancel. She was also an enthusiastic community choir
Australian songs in his homeland, he spent time in
leader and had published several song books.
America and the UK, and even managed a 1975 UK top
ten hit with a version of Cole Porter's I Get A Kick Out Of
You.
Terry Conway - died 4/6/13 aged 69. Northumbrian singer
songwriter who often used the experiences of his day job
as a council road worker in his songs.
Toshi Seeger - died 9/7/13 aged 91. American film maker,
producer and wife of 70 years to Pete Seeger, she is
credited with being every bit the activist and campaigner
Shows Worth Seeing
Previewing the new season of guest nights
coming to Readifolk.
Various images of the artists
around the world over the last twenty years. Among those who
have recorded their own versions of Lowe’s songs are Fairport
Convention, The Dubliners, The Tannahill Weavers, Cherish
The Ladies, Gordon Bok, The McCalmans, The Black Brothers,
Liam Clancy, Bob Fox and literally hundreds of others. Songs
like Back In Durham Gaol, The Bergen, Greek Lightning and
These Coal Town Days have generated scores of covers.
What others say:
Scintillating fiddle, a silky smooth voice, a wide grin and a dry
Geordie wit.
"Once again, we at The Woodman were entertained by a
songwriter of rare quality and a consummate performer with a
healthy Geordie sense of humour. I'll certainly be back to see
Jez Lowe again, and I'm sure that's true for all who were there"
- The Woodman Folk Club. "Lowe is a singular talent you don’t
have to come from the northeast to enjoy" - Robin Denslow BBC Review.
What others say:
What we say:
"One of the greatest violinists I’ve ever heard and by far the
biggest influence on my music - a true master" - Seth Lakeman.
"Virtuoso musicianship with fantastic singing - an audience wild
with joy" - Sidmouth Festival.
Hear more:
On 13th October Tom McConville, The Newcastle Fiddler,
returns to Readifolk.
What he says:
What we say:
Jez is a firm favourite at Readifolk. We are looking forward to
another spellbinding evening.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S71vvfWVtTk
www.youtube.com/channel/HCfFGMKPf3b-w
A long awaited return to Readifolk for this masterful performer.
Hear more:
*************************
https://myspace.com/tommcconville
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6n2f8EnwfY
All the way from Oxford, Sue Brown & Lorraine Irwing come
to entertain us on 24th November.
*************************
On 27th October we are delighted to welcome Dave Gibb to
the club.
What he says:
Hailing from the village of Wanlockhead in Dumfries &
Galloway Dave’s song writing is firmly rooted in the tradition of
the storyteller. Contemporary and historical sources offer a
wealth of material for songs that are performed in a style driven
by his unique fingerpicking guitar playing.
What others say:
"The man is a left-handed guitarist who can make others feel
like giving up. Dave is now gaining the recognition he deserves
all over Britain. Sometimes humorous and sometimes wistful or
sad but never dull, that’s Dave" - Falkirk Folk Club. "His easy
fusion of blues, jazz and folk finger work on the fretboard,
coupled with a truly "west coast" sense of humour and timing
had us all totally absorbed and rolling in the aisles - in many
cases at the same time" - Kelso Folk Club.
What we say:
After listening to his 2005 album Blood & Flames we simply had
to invite Dave to come and enthral the Readifolk audience.
Hear more:
https://myspace.com/davegibb
What they say:
Oxford-based duo Sue Brown and Lorraine Irwing base their
repertoire firmly in English traditional song, drawing from time
to time on contemporary material and songs from other
traditions. Their harmony singing has been described as
"perfection in timing and expressive melody" and "a blend of
voices to melt the heart of an iceberg".
What others say:
"A great bit of English traditional singing... cracking stuff" - Mike
Harding. "Expressive and inventive (and sometimes disturbing)
vocal harmonies form the epicentre of this established Oxfordbased duo's fresh interpretations of English traditional song,
with occasional admirably spare and undistracting instrumental
enhancement" - fRoots.
What we say:
We have watched the development of this talented duo over
the years. They now perform to well-deserved acclaim and we
are delighted to have them back at Readifolk.
Hear more:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=46NqVlRSNJw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3eir9zZISo
*************************
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNsTuMOF9A
On 1st December firm favourites of Readifolk na-mara make a
return visit.
*************************
What they say:
Jez Lowe makes a welcome return on 10th November.
What he says:
Jez Lowe has built an enviable reputation as a songwriter and
performer in the world of acoustic music, and as a recognised
musical ambassador for his native North East England, with
more than a dozen albums and countless live performances
UK-based folk duo, na-mara have been described as "elegant
and skilled musicians". They have broadcast on BBC Radio 4,
performed in concert with French folk superstars, Gabriel
Yacoub, Sylvie Berger and other members of Malicorne, and
have performed at clubs and festivals in the UK, France and
Spain. In addition to many 'guest/headliner' bookings, they have
also supported Cara Dillon, Emily Smith, Vin Garbutt and The
Tannahill Weavers. They perform traditional songs and tunes
from the British Isles, Brittany, France, Quebec, Asturias and
Galicia as well as self-penned songs in traditional style. Paul's
songwriting has been described as "an ingenious songwriter in
the traditional vein” and their album The Bite, released in
November 2010, received critical acclaim from a host of local
and national folk magazines and has been played on folk music
radio programmes across the UK.
What others say:
"I do like these guys. Their musical skills are superb and their
songs are of the highest quality. Songs and tunes from the UK,
France and Spain as well as their own compositions" - The
Milkmaid Folk Club, Bury St Edmunds. "na-mara are
increasingly including their own songs and music in their shows
which are heartfelt, warm and full of historical and emotional
integrity" - The Watford Folk Club.
What we say:
"Na Mara gave us an amazing evening mixing musical dexterity
on the mandolin and guitar with superb vocals; the set included
songs ranging from traditional British ballads to Breton and
Quebecois influenced arrangements" - Readifolk Newsletter,
Notes 2, 2009
Hear more:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsBreQaSBVg
http://myspace.com/namaramusic
and stuff", and his songs now represent about half the band's
repertoire. They also introduced instruments - David on
accordion, Michael on guitar - and "there’s now a good balance
between a capella and accompanied songs." The other crucial
element of their act is the patter. "It’s not scripted, never
planned. It’s because we are enjoying ourselves, and maybe
derived from a slight nervousness. We get on so well and funny
things happen to us all the time. People think we make stories
up - but they’re all real."
What others say:
"The Young’uns have fast become one of the most popular,
entertaining and sought after live acts today. With bags of
charm, talent, and an abiding enthusiasm for traditional song,
Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes bring
freshness and dynamism to their arrangements of close
harmony songs, both with and without accompaniment.
Everything from traditional sea and working songs to more
recent compositions is present in their repertoire, and is
delivered with originality and flair. They are effortlessly
entertaining, with an irreverent sense of humour that engages
any audience" - Cambridge Junction. "The Young’uns, a
Hartlepool-based trio, are one of those groups who seem to
have an instinctive musical understanding. Though guitar and
accordion make the occasional appearance, their warm,
masculine harmonies are at the core of their sound" - Folk
Witness.
What we say:
*************************
On 15th December we start our Christmas festivities when we
introduce The Young’uns to Readifolk.
What they say:
Folk clubs provided an apprenticeship and when they did their
first gig "all our families came along early, so when the regulars
arrived there was no room - folk music is not meant to be
popular, they grumbled". The Young’uns even ran their own
club in Hartlepool for four years. Sean started to write songs.
"Living by the sea, I was inspired by local fishermen, tragedies
We first saw this young trio at Sidmouth 2012 and are delighted
to have finally booked them for an appearance at Readifolk.
You cannot fail to be entertained by their gorgeous harmonies,
excellent musicianship and their hilarious rapport with the
audience.
Hear more:
http://myspace.com/theyoungunsmusic
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns3x5XiHyMA
A Song Worth Singing
House of the Rising Sun
Images: Artwork of record covers by both Woody Guthrie and The Animals
This song was, Tony Blair once informed us, the first
song he ever learned to play on the guitar. But this
shouldn't put you off - if I remember correctly, that
probably means that he, along with a great many other
aspiring guitarists, started with Russ Shipton's Complete
Guitar Player Course, Songbook 1, where it features
early on.
of it, including notable versions by Leadbelly, Woody
Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. The earliest
known recording of it was by Clarence "Tom" Ashley and
Gwen Foster in 1934. Liner notes on an album from the
Smithsonian Institute's Folkways series say there was an
earlier recording by blues singer Texas Alexander, but a
hunt on Youtube shows this to be a completely unrelated
song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNPvaHD6j-
The most well known recording of this song is almost
certainly the one released by The Animals in 1964, with
Eric Burdon on vocals. There are various legends about
the arrangement of this version, which is usually
attributed to keyboardist Alan Price, and it seems that
Price managed to collect all the songwriting royalties for
the song. One theory has it that he was advised
independently by a manager to register his name as the
arranger, thus enabling him to collect royalties from a
traditional song. Another says that there was only room
for one name on the label of the 7" record, and Alan
Price was first alphabetically. Either way, it contributed to
an enduring friction between Price and the rest of the
band, particularly guitarist Hilton Valentine, who claims to
have contributed the distinctive guitar figure that
permeates the song. The record became their signature
song, and has continued to sell in large numbers ever
since.
Y
However, Bob Dylan was also reckoned to be somewhat
put out by The Animals' recording, as he had also
recorded the song on his debut album two years earlier.
Although Dylan's version consists of just his voice and
acoustic guitar, he had to drop the song from his live set,
as people started to accuse him of plagiarising The
Animals' later version. Even before that, though,
American folk singer Dave van Ronk was claiming that
Dylan's version was based on his.
In an interview, van Ronk said "Bobby picked up the
chord changes for the song from me. It really altered the
song considerably. He asked me if I would mind if he
recorded my version, so I said 'Well gee, Bob, I'd rather
you didn't, because I want to record it myself soon.'
"After he recorded it, I had to stop singing the song,
because people were constantly accusing me of having
got the song from Bobby's record. Now, that was very,
very annoying, but I couldn't blame that on him. But
when Eric Burdon and The Animals picked the song up
from Bobby, and recorded it, Bobby told me that he had
had to drop the song because everybody was accusing
him of ripping it off from Eric Burdon."
With a perspective of 50 years hindsight, perhaps we
shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the song had been
recorded many times before any of these artists got hold
Although the song, as it is best known, seems to be an
American blues, with reference to New Orleans, a city
founded in the early 18th century, there are some claims
that it can be traced back earlier to England; Alan Price,
being interviewed on the radio in 2009, has said that it
was probably a 16th century song about a Soho brothel,
though we should also note that the area that is now
Soho was undeveloped open land until the last half of
the 17th century. Eric Burdon has said that it probably
comes from church music "There are a lot of theories of
the origins of Rising Sun. Most certainly, it was not
originally an American song. The key and chord
sequence are more akin to an English hymn." Folklorist
Alan Lomax was the first to catalogue the song, having
first come across it during a song collecting trip to the
Appalachian region of Kentucky, where 16 year old
Georgia Turner sang him what she referred to as The
Rising Sun Blues. Lomax later said that it may be linked
to English folk song Matty Groves, a song, itself, of
which there are several variants, and has also linked it to
a song he collected from English folk singer Harry Cox,
called She Was a Rum One, which includes the
somewhat unedifying lines
If you go to Lowestoft,
And ask for the Rising Sun
There you'll find two whores
And my old woman's one.
Most interpretations of the song have it that the Rising
Sun was a brothel, where, in a commentary that is still
depressingly topical, poor women would attempt to avoid
destitution or improve their lot, but, perhaps inevitably,
fall victim to abuse, disease and exploitation. Given the
sensibilities of broadcasting stations in the early 1960s, it
is perhaps surprising that The Animals' record received
so much airplay, going to Number 1 in the UK and USA,
and selling over a million copies in America within five
weeks. From the same era, the BBC endeavoured to
protect our moral sensibilities by banning such records
as Ken Dodd's I'm Always Chasing Rainbows and Joe
Brown's My Little Ukulele. But there are other possible
interpretations that suggest the Rising Sun may have
been a gaol or an infirmary. Within the city of New
Orleans there are several properties that assert a claim
to having been the original Rising Sun.
Whatever the origins might be, it's probably fair to say
that there is no connection to either of Reading's Rising
Suns - the former temperance house on Silver Street
that is now an independent arts centre, or the old pub on
Forbury Road.
The version of the song presented here is based on a
recording by Woody Guthrie that can be heard on
Youtube at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlbLs_bvimU
Youtube will testify that Guthrie must have recorded the
song at least twice, though most references only cite one
recording. There is no telling which version he did first,
but this one seems to have the most complete lyric of
any recordings, extending to eight verses. The lyric
seems to include a strange gender mixup, in verse two,
where the first-person phrase 'poor boy' is used, whilst
the rest of the song is sung from the female point of
view. In Guthrie's other recording of it, he changes this to
'poor girl', and in common with most other early
recordings, either by male or female singers, sings from
the female point of view. By the time The Animals came
to record it, the lyrics had been changed to
accommodate a male perspective.
With guitar, harmonica and banjo, this arrangement is
the more complex of Guthrie's two versions, or, as
Readifolk club member Ed said, when trying to
transcribe it for this article, "It's a complete mess! The
guitar and banjo are playing conflicting chords most of
the time, and not many fit the melody." Happily, he was,
as usual, able to come up with a simplified, easier
version without losing the flavour of the original.
Image of musical notation of song
1. There is a house in New Orleans
they call the Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
and me, oh God, I'm one.
5. He fills his glasses to the brim,
passes them around
The only pleasure that he gets out of life
is hobo-ing from town to town
2. If I had listened what mama had said,
I'd've been at home today
Being so young and a foolish poor boy
I let a gambler lead me astray
6. Go tell my baby sister
never do like I have done
To shun that house in New Orleans
that they call the Rising Sun
3. My mother, she's a tailor,
she sewed those new blue jeans
My sweetheart he's a drunkard, lord,
drinks down in New Orleans
7. One foot's on the platform,
the other on the train
I'm going back to New Orleans,
to wear that ball and chain
4. The only thing a drunkard needs
is a suitcase and a trunk
The only time he's satisfied
is when he's on a drunk
8. Going back to New Orleans,
my time is almost done
Going back to spend my life
beneath that rising sun
Readifolk Newsletter
My usual unbounded thanks are due to everyone who made this edition possible - you are all wonderful, no matter what it's like behind your fridge.
I call architecture frozen music - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I see music as fluid architecture - Joni Mitchell
READIFOLK
READING'S FOLK SONG & MUSIC CLUB
Every Sunday 8:00 - 10:30 p.m.
Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC)
35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS
PROGRAMME OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2013
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Affiliated to EDFSS
origin as well as some originals.
6th October
Singers Night
10th November
The usual format – a song, a tune, a
story, a poem, a joke or just come
and be entertained by us. All
welcome.
Jez Lowe
www.jezlowe.com
8th December
Singers Night
A welcome return to Readifolk of
this renowned singer/songwriter
with an engaging Geordie wit.
Come and sing, play or just listen. A
warm welcome is guaranteed.
Tom McConville
17th November
The Young’uns
www.tommcconville.co.uk
Theme
www.theyounguns.co.uk
One of the leading fiddle players of
our time. A virtuoso musician and
fantastic singer.
‘That’s Fishy’
20th October
24th November
Theme
Sue Brown &
Lorraine Irwing
Brilliant young trio performing
traditional and contemporary songs.
Powerful harmony singing with
guitar and accordion accompaniment
– and a devilish rapport with the
audience.
13th October
‘Food for Thought’
Readifolk is once again supporting
the Reading International Festival.
Tonight’s theme reflects the Festival
theme ‘Hungry for Change’.
27th October
Dave Gibb
Tales of suspicion or tales of the
sea? You decide.
www.sueandlorraine.com
Oxford-based duo Sue and Lorraine
base their repertoire firmly in
English traditional song with
occasional departures into
contemporary material and other
traditions.
www.davegibb.co.uk
All the way from bonnie Scotland,
Dave is an excellent guitarist, singer
and songwriter.
3rd November
Singers Night
Another opportunity for you to show
us what you can do.
1st December
na-mara
www.na-mara.com
One of our favourite duos, na-mara
play an interesting mix of
traditional songs and tunes,
particularly of French and Spanish
15th December
22nd December
Christmas Party
Come and get the festive season off to
a flying start - lots of singing and
music plus traditional Christmas
fare.
29th December
Theme
‘Wishful Thinking’
Your chance to entertain us with
songs about your hopes &
aspirations for the coming year.
Admission: £6 Guest nights; £2 Singers & Theme nights
More information from our web site www.readifolk.org.uk
Una - 0118 9483145 or Anne - 0118 9613586
una@readifolk.org.uk
anne@readifolk.org.uk
Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/readifolk and Twitter www.twitter.com/readifolk
Listen to the Readifolk Hour on Reading4U, the internet arm of Reading Community Radio,
every Friday evening 6 - 8 p.m. www.reading4u.org and click on ‘Listen Live’.